Turning Tables

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For other similarly titled uses, see Turning the Tables.
"Turning Tables"
Single by Adele
from the album 21
Released5 November 2011
StudioSphere Studios (London)
GenrePop
Length4:10
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jim Abbiss
Adele singles chronology
"Rumour Has It"
(2011) 		"Turning Tables"
(2011) 		"Skyfall"
(2012)
Live video
"Turning Tables" on
YouTube

"Turning Tables" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter

strings, and guitar.[1] Lyrically, the song describes a domestic dispute in which its narrator assumes a defensive stance against a manipulative ex-lover. XL Recordings sent the song to UK mainstream radio on 5 November 2011 as the fifth single from 21 along with "Rumour Has It
".

"Turning Tables" received acclaim from

UK Singles Chart and 63 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 500,000 digital downloads. Adele performed "Turning Tables" on television shows such as Late Night with David Letterman in the US and The Jonathan Ross Show in the UK and included it on the Adele Live concert tour. American actress and singer Gwyneth Paltrow performed a cover of the single in the Glee episode "A Night of Neglect
".

Background

Ryan Tedder co-wrote "Turning Tables" alongside Adele.

In April 2009, 20-year-old Adele, who had recently embarked on her first serious relationship with a man 10 years her senior,[2] began composing the follow-up to her 2008 debut album 19.[3] In response to the media's typecasting her as an "old soul" due to the vintage production and sentimental nature of her songs,[4] Adele decided on a more upbeat and contemporary second album.[3] However, studio sessions were generally unproductive and, after two weeks, yielded only one song recorded to the singer's satisfaction—the Jim Abbiss-produced "Take It All", a lovelorn piano ballad not unlike the songs on 19.[3][5] Disillusioned with her lack of inspiration and the slow progress of the studio sessions, she cancelled the remaining recording dates.[6] Adele had written "Take It All" during a difficult moment in her relationship. When she played the song for her boyfriend, the two got into a bitter argument that culminated in the end of their 18-month relationship.[7] Heartbroken but musically stimulated, the singer channelled her rush of emotions into her music, crafting songs that examined her failed relationship from the perspectives of vengeful ex-lover, heartbroken victim, and nostalgic old flame.[8][9]

After several recording sessions with writers and producers like

period piece, and symbolised the personal maturity and artistic evolution since her debut.[10][12]

Writing, production and release

"Turning Tables" was written by American singer-songwriter and frontman of pop-rock band

2009 Grammy Awards ceremony in February.[14] He arrived four hours early to their first studio session held at Sphere Studios in London, buying time to better familiarise himself with some of her previous work.[13][15] Although unaware of Adele's personal predicament, he composed the opening piano sequence and first few lines of "Turning Tables".[15]

Coincidentally, it perfectly captured the experience of the singer, who arrived at the studio moments after another altercation with her former lover. Angry and unfocused, she denounced her ex-lover's tendency to "turn the tables" on her during their arguments, an expression that Tedder decided to reference in the song's lyrics.

string arrangement was made by Chris Elliot. The strings were played by Patrick Kernan, Stephen Morris, Tom Pigott-Smith, Julian Leaper, Boguslaw Kostecki, Bruce White, Peter Lale, Rachel Stephanie Bolt, David Danels, Caroline Dale, Warren Zelnski, Jackie Shave, Chris Laurence, Rita Manning, Cathy Thompson, Emlyn Singleton and Chris Worsey.[13] XL Recordings serviced the song to UK mainstream radio on 5 November 2011 as fifth single from 21 alongside "Rumour Has It".[16] On 14 December 2011, the song was sent for airplay to Italian radio stations.[17]

Composition

"Turning Tables"
A sample of "Turning Tables," whose
chorus consists of the lyrics "So I won't let you / Close enough to hurt me / No, I won't rescue / You to just desert me / I can't give you / The heart you think you gave me / It's time to say goodbye / To turning tables."[18]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Turning Tables" is a pop

Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Turning Tables" is written in the key of C minor and set in common time, with 78 beats per minute. The song accompaniment uses the Seventh and Ninth chords and follows Two Chord Progressions and a Bridge(Passage) Progression of progression #1: Cm7(i7)-A♭M9(VI M9)-Fm9(iv9)-A♭(VI),Bridge progression: A♭(VI)-Fm7(iv7)-A♭(VI)-B♭(VII), Progression #2:Cm7(i7)-A♭M9(VI M9)-E♭(III)-Fm(iv). Adele's vocal range spans from the low note of G3 to the high note of C5.[22]

Lyrically, "Turning Tables" is a song of domestic dispute,

chorus consists of the lyrics: "So I won't let you / Close enough to hurt me / No, I won't rescue / You to just desert me / I can't give you / The heart you think you gave me / It's time to say goodbye / To turning tables."[18]

Reception

Critical

"Turning Tables" received acclaim from

Daily Herald said that Adele sounds "epic" on the song.[26] Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt found a "scorned-woman balladry" in the song.[27] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune found a "piano-based melancholy" in the song.[28] A reviewer of HauteThought wrote that "Adele's natural ease and original tone shines in Turning Tables. The song allows her to explore her upper register without ignoring the lower, soulful sound she always seems able create."[18] Lily Moayeri stated that on the "barely contained 'Turning Tables', Adele lets forth her formidable lungpower."[29] Ryan Reed of Paste called the single "tearjerking",[1] while Margaret Wappler of Los Angeles Times labeled the song as "softly sentimental".[30]

Commercial

"Turning Tables" debuted at its peak of number 63 on the US

Italian Singles Chart
on 19 January 2012. After three weeks on the chart, the song reached its peak of number eight on 16 February 2012.

Live performances and covers

In 2011, Gwyneth Paltrow performed a cover of "Turning Tables" in the Glee episode "A Night of Neglect".

Adele performed "Turning Tables" at Live at Largo in Los Angeles on 9 February 2011. Robie Daw of

Live at the Royal Albert Hall which was released on 25 November 2011. Adele described the concert as the most special show that she would ever play.[45] Adele performed the song on 27 January 2012 at Live from the Artists Den. During the performance the singer stated: "Nothing in life moves me as much as being on stage does. I love the closeness of playing in small rooms, and this room was lovely and simple, just beautiful."[46]

"Turning Tables" was covered by American actress and singer Gwyneth Paltrow, in the "A Night of Neglect" episode of the Fox Broadcasting Company television show Glee. Her performance of the song was considered inferior to the original. Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone named it her least-favorite of Paltrow's covers to date and said that her vocals "lacked the texture that made Adele's version so heartbreaking."[47] Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly gave it her lowest grade of the episode, a "B−",[48] and Aly Semigran of MTV opined that while Paltrow is "a nice enough singer," she "in no way has the chops" the song requires.[49] Whilst The Wall Street Journal's Raymund Flandez called it a "scene-stealing turn" and commended it visually and vocally, he noted that Paltrow lacks Adele's veracity.[50] Released as a single, this version peaked at number 66 on US Billboard Hot 100[31] and Canadian Hot 100.[35] As of 2 July 2012, the Glee version had sold 113,000 paid downloads in the US alone.[51] Co-writer of the song Ryan Tedder performed the song at Denver's Acoustic Christmas (a charity concert hosted by all Colorado artists) with his band OneRepublic in 2011.[52]

As the song boomed, there has been many covers made on Turning Tables from various artists.[53] Various representations of this song in different versions have been trending in the UK and other countries as well.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of 21, XL Recordings.[13]

Recording

  • Recorded at Sphere Studios, London, United Kingdom

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[67] Gold 35,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[68] Platinum 60,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[69] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[70] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[71] Platinum 30,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[72] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[73] Gold 883,000[34]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom[16] 5 November 2011 Mainstream radio XL
Italy[17] 14 December 2011 Airplay

References

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External links

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